Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

David Blue was convicted of capital murder when the only sentences for that crime were death or life imprisonment. Blue was sentenced to death, and his death sentence was subsequently found unconstitutional because he was both intellectually disabled and a minor when he committed the crime. The trial court sentenced Blue to life without parole, and he requested a "Miller" hearing to determine whether that new sentence was appropriate. While his petition for post-conviction relief was pending before the trial court, the Mississippi Supreme Court found Section 99-19-107 inapplicable to individuals for whom the death penalty was found unconstitutional. The trial court ordered a mental evaluation to help with a Miller determination regarding whether to sentence Blue to life or life without the possibility of parole. Blue filed an interlocutory appeal with the Supreme Court, arguing that a mental evaluation and hearing were unnecessary, because only one constitutional sentence was available: life imprisonment. The State argued that life without parole was a sentencing option because the statutory amendments that added life without parole as a sentencing option for capital murder applied to Blue. Because applying life without parole as a sentencing option to Blue would violate the prohibition against ex post facto laws, the Supreme Court vacated the trial court’s order and remanded the case with instructions to sentence Blue to life imprisonment. View "Blue v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Dewayne Small was convicted by jury of felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult. The charge stemmed from Small and his girlfriend cashing twenty checks totaling more than $12,000 written by 79-year-old Charlotte Davis. Small claimed he was performing yard work for Charlotte, a widow who lived alone. But after viewing photographs of a half-cut tree, piles of debris, unraked leaves, overgrown shrubs, and other evidence of a scam, the jury rejected his argument. Based on the guilty verdict, the trial judge sentenced Small as a habitual offender to ten years in prison without the possibility of parole. On appeal, Small challenged the weight and sufficiency of the evidence presented against him at trial. Small also filed a pro se supplemental brief: challenging his habitual- offender status; and claiming the jury was tainted because the trial court did not strike for cause a juror who had previously worked with the police officer who testified against Small. Finding no reversible errors, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed Small's conviction. View "Small v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Paul Barton appealed his conviction for possession of a stolen firearm. To the Mississippi Supreme Court, Barton argued the evidence was insufficient to show that he knew the firearm was stolen. At trial, Barton was also convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon, but he conceded that sufficient evidence supported that conviction. The Court of Appeals affirmed Barton’s convictions, concluding that the evidence was sufficient to support Barton’s conviction for possession of a stolen firearm. After review, the Supreme Court concluded the State failed to present sufficient evidence to prove that Barton knew the firearm was stolen and, therefore, that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to support Barton’s conviction of possessing a stolen firearm beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, the Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the judgments of the Court of Appeals and of the Circuit Court. The Supreme Court acquitted Barton as to the possession-of-a-stolen-firearm charge. View "Barton v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Bobby Batiste was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. His conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court. The Court later granted him the right to file a petition for post-conviction relief (PCR), finding he was entitled to a hearing regarding alleged communications between bailiffs and/or others and members of the jury. During the hearings, a motion was made requesting that the trial judge recuse. This motion was denied, and, ultimately, the PCR was denied. Batiste appealed both the denial of the request to recuse as well as the denial of the PCR on its merits. Because the Supreme Court found that evidentiary questions remained relating to the recusal issue, it did not address the merits of the PCR. The matter was remanded for further proceedings. View "Batiste v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Robert Casey was convicted by jury of possession of cocaine, for which the circuit court sentenced him to serve twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with four years suspended pending completion of four years’ post-release supervision. Casey appealed, arguing that the trial court erred by declining to suppress cocaine found on his person and that his constitutional and statutory rights to a speedy trial were violated. Because Casey’s arguments were without merit, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and sentence. View "Casey v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Cynthia Robinson was convicted of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone after being intercepted by police on her way to meet a confidential informant. On appeal, Robinson contended the trial court erred by denying her motion for a mental evaluation. Robinson’s counsel asserted that Robinson was not effectively assisting in her own defense and pointed to Robinson’s YouTube videos espousing conspiracy theories and to her prior diagnosis of a drug-induced psychotic disorder. Robinson personally asked the court to deny the motion, which it ultimately did: the trial judge cited his prior experience with Robinson and his prior findings that she was “reasonable and rational” and had “presented herself well . . . before the Court.” Robinson testified in her own defense, and she appeared fully aware of the allegations against her and presented a coherent theory of her defense. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed Robinson’s convictions and sentences. View "Robinson v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

In this case's second time before the Mississippi Supreme Court, the Court held in High v. Kuhn, 191 So. 3d 113 (Miss. 2016) (High I), that article 4, section 110, of the Mississippi Constitution forbade the condemnation of a private road across the property of Cheryl High for the benefit of Todd and Angela Kuhn. After the Court’s mandate, High moved the Harrison County Special Court of Eminent Domain for attorney fees pursuant to Mississippi Code Section 11-27-37 (Rev. 2019). The special court found that Section 11-27-37 did not apply. High appealed, and the Supreme Court reversed and remanded for the special court to consider the merits of the motion for attorney fees and the reasonableness of the amount of fees requested. On remand, High filed an amended motion requesting attorney fees for a frivolous filing under the Mississippi Litigation Accountability Act (LAA). After a hearing, the special court awarded attorney fees to High as a sanction for the Kuhns’ frivolous filing. The special court found that the $29,049.60 requested by High was reasonable and assessed that amount jointly and severally against the Kuhns and their attorney, Virgil Gillespie. The special court denied the Kuhns’ motion to reconsider and amended the judgment to add $1,000 in attorney fees that High had incurred in defending the motion for reconsideration. The Kuhns and Gillespie appealed, arguing that the special court erred by: (1) adopting High’s findings of fact and conclusions of law; (2) awarding a judgment to one of High’s attorneys who was not a party to the lawsuit; (3) imposing a sanction for a frivolous filing; (4) awarding interest; and (5) allowing attorney fees beyond those permitted by Section 11- 27-37. The Supreme Court concluded the special court of eminent domain did not abuse its discretion by imposing the sanctions nor did it err in its application of the law. The Court reversed in part only to correct a scrivener’s error in the amended judgment. View "Kuhn v. High" on Justia Law

Dontorius Ware was indicted, charged and convicted for the murder of Roy Lee Washington. He appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence presented against him at trial. Because the Mississippi Supreme Court determined sufficient evidence supported the verdict, because the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, and because Ware did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel, it affirmed the conviction and sentence. View "Ware v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Eddie Howard was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of eighty-four-year-old Georgia Kemp. Howard was tied to the crime by Dr. Michael West, who identified Howard as the source of bite marks on Kemp’s body. At trial, Dr. West testified that he was a member of the American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO) and that he had followed its guidelines in rendering his opinion. But since Howard’s trial, the ABFO revised those guidelines to prohibit such testimony, and this reflected a new scientific understanding that an individual perpetrator could not be reliably identified through bite-mark comparison. This, along with new DNA testing and the paucity of other evidence linking Howard to the murder, compelled the Mississippi Supreme Court to conclude that Howardwasis entitled to a new trial. The Court therefore reversed the trial court’s denial of postconviction relief and vacated Howard’s conviction and sentence. View "Howard v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Michael Willis appealed his conviction for aggravated assault following a fight outside Kedarious' grandmother's home in which one person was shot and paralyzed. Counsel for his codefendant and nephew Kedarious Willis (Kedarious) filed a Lindsey brief with the appellate court, averring there were no meritorious arguments for appeal. After reviewing the errors Willis alleged, the Mississippi Supreme Court found no merit to his arguments. Therefore, the Court affirmed conviction. View "Willis v. Mississippi" on Justia Law